Unfinished Business
by DahliaxBell
Summary: Sequel to Britain's Finest: Brian contemplates on coming back to the Insitute, but, he's left Elizabeth alone..and Sabertooth has Elizabeth on his mind for revenge. plz R&R! read first one, otherwise this may not make sense New Chappies, Finally finished!
1. Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business  
  
Jean placed a dime on the table in front of Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked down at the dime, then at Jean. "Okay, since we're outside, I figure it'd be safer, just in case something gets out of control." Jean smiled.  
  
Elizabeth nervously ran her hands through her long black hair, combing it out of her face. "The key to controlling your telekinesis is focus. Focus on the specific item; such as this dime." Jean explained.  
  
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow, "Why a dime?"  
  
"Let's start out small first." Jean nervously said.  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "Concentrate on moving this dime and this dime alone. Learn to use your ability with your mind, Elizabeth." Jean instructed.  
  
"But, Jean, my telekinesis isn't very strong. I'm more telepathic than anything else." Elizabeth sighed.  
  
Jean shook her head, "Your power will develop the more you use it."  
  
"Okay, well, here goes nothing." Elizabeth retorted.  
  
Elizabeth stared at the dime in front of her. She concentrated on the dime, everything else around her becoming blurry. Elizabeth concentrated on levitating the dime from the table. Suddenly, the dime began to shake. The dime began to hesitantly levitate off of the table. Elizabeth's eyes moved with the dime, as it floated higher in front of her. "Good!" Jean smiled.  
  
Suddenly, Elizabeth's concentration interrupted, as she thought of her brother. The dime dropped onto the table. "What happened?" Jean asked.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, "N-Nothing. I'm sorry."  
  
Jean shrugged. "That's okay. You want to try some more?" She asked her.  
  
Elizabeth shook her head. "I think that we should maybe continue tomorrow."  
  
Jean nodded in understanding. "Alright then."  
  
Charles entered the formal dining room, and smiled as he saw the students and staff sitting around the table eating their lunches. He moved to settle at the head of the table. He noticed Elizabeth sitting at the end of the table, with her chin resting on the palm of her hand. She was staring at her plate, moving her fork at the food. "Elizabeth? Are you alright?" He asked.  
  
Elizabeth quickly looked up at him. "Yes, Professor. I'm fine."  
  
Charles looked at her with a look of concern on his face. He hesitantly nodded, and smiled at the students at the table. Kurt reached over to the bowl of salad in front of Remy. Remy slapped Kurt's hand, before he could grab the bowl. He looked at Kurt, and pointed his fork at him, "Kurt, a polite man asks for something to be passed to him at the table, mon ami'."  
  
Kurt smiled, and sat back in his seat, "Sorry. Remy, can you please pass the salad?"  
  
Remy grinned, "That's better."  
  
Remy passed Kurt the salad bowl. The phone rang, and Elizabeth's head shot up. Storm answered the phone. She waited, and looked at Peter, "Peter, it's for you."  
  
Peter rolled his eyes, and stood up. He grabbed the phone from Storm, and walked out of the room. Elizabeth sunk back in her seat, staring at her plate. Rogue looked up across from her, at Elizabeth. She leaned towards her, "Betsy." She whispered.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes moved up, to look at her. "Why don't you and I go shopping today after lunch?" Rogue suggested.  
  
Elizabeth shrugged, "I don't know Rogue."  
  
"Oh, come on, Betsy. Let's get out of the house, okay?" Rogue asked.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, and then nodded. "Alright. That sounds like a good idea, anyway."  
  
Peter groaned out of frustration, as he talked on the phone. "No, Tara! This is ridiculous! You're calling me on the phone, yelling at me about how we need to stay together to work things out.You were the one who hung up on me in the first place!" Peter snapped.  
  
"But, Peter! You know that you and I belong together! I can't give you up over something stupid like this!" Tara complained.  
  
"No, Tara. This is starting to get stupid. I have to go." Peter snapped, before hanging up the phone.  
  
Peter placed the phone back onto the mount on the wall. He rolled his eyes, saying to himself, "What a bimbo."  
  
Sabertooth stirred from his sleep. He opened his eyes, and shot up. He looked around himself at his surroundings. He sniffed the air. The last thing he could remember was the girl at the abandoned laboratories. "Where the hell am I?" He asked himself.  
  
He growled, as he remembered the girl who stunned him, attempting to stop him from his real mission. Magneto had sent him to the laboratories to lure a new recruit from the Xavier Institute. He was to capture the recruit, and take him back to Magneto. Was the recruit a him, or a her? He couldn't remember. Rage began to fuel through his mind, as he remembered the girl shoving her glowing fists, drowning him of his consciousness. He hated anything that got in his way. He wanted to destroy whoever, or whatever stood in his way from proving himself to Magneto. He wanted revenge for his failure. He wanted to destroy the girl that stood by the X Men that caused him to fail Magneto.  
  
Peter walked down the hallway towards his room. He saw Elizabeth's room door open and stopped in his tracks as Elizabeth stepped out of her room. He stared at what she was wearing. She wore her thick long black hair down, with make up on her face. She wore black flare jeans that hugged her hips. She had a thick black belt wrapped through the belt loops of her jeans, and buckled in the center. She wore a dark purple long sleeved shirt that accented her figure. She closed the door after her, and looked up at him. He nervously cleared his throat. "Oh, hi Peter." She coldly said.  
  
"Hi, Elizabeth. Where are you going?" He asked.  
  
Elizabeth walked past him. "Out with Rogue; see you later."  
  
Peter looked after her, and whistled as he turned back to walking towards his room.  
  
Sabertooth stared at the town in front of him, from the cliff near the mountain ranges he was dumped at. He growled, as he ran down the trail leading towards the town below.  
  
Brian sat in front of his father's grave site. He stared at the tombstone. He sighed, and leaned forward. "Well, dad; you obviously know that I know what happened with Betsy," Brian shook his head; "I don't know what to do, dad. If you were here, I know you'd be able to give me the advice I need. I don't know if I can handle the fact that my real twin has been dead, with only her brain transferred to another girl's body."  
  
Brian sat back, and sighed. He bowed his head, deep in his thoughts. He looked up, as he heard Jamie sitting next to him. "You heard?" Brian asked his older brother.  
  
Jamie nodded, "Mum told me when we found out you were coming home."  
  
Jamie ran his hands through his dark brown hair, and looked at his younger brother. "Jamie, how can that be Betsy? I mean; to tell you the truth, I don't know if I could look at her the same." Brian sighed.  
  
Jamie looked at his father's grave stone in front of them. He then handed his brother a photograph, "You know what dad would say to you?" Jamie asked him.  
  
Brian looked at the photograph. It was of him giving Elizabeth a piggy back ride, with both of them smiling into the camera. "Dad would tell you to just look at your sister. It's only a body. The soul is what makes her Elizabeth," Jamie explained. "Remember when that picture was taken?"  
  
Brian smiled, staring at the photograph. "That's when she finally came home. We were so happy to see each other. After she called me Bee, I knew it was her." Brian remembered.  
  
Jamie nodded. "You knew that only Lizard could call you Bee." Jamie sighed, "So, what changed the fact that that was Elizabeth?"  
  
Brian looked at his older brother, beginning to understand what he was trying to say. He shouldn't have thought anything else of his sister; or even juggled with the thought of doing it. Even though the other half of him had been dead, her soul still lived on with her mind and memories of her whole life; just in another physical form. Their souls were two of the same. "You're right, Jamie." Brian smiled. 


	2. Admiring Persistance

Admiring Persistence  
  
Elizabeth followed Rogue through the hallways of the mall, with shopping bags in their hands. Rogue turned to her, and smiled, "Feelin' better?"  
  
Elizabeth looked at her, and nodded. "I really appreciate this Rogue." She smiled.  
  
Rogue looked at the food court, and then back at Elizabeth. "You want something to eat? I'm stravin' again." Rogue smirked.  
  
Elizabeth let out a laugh, "Yeah, why not?"  
  
Storm used her powers, creating little rain clouds above each plant around her. The clouds showered the plants, quenching the thirst of the roots. Storm smiled, as the sun rays lit the conservatory. She put her arms to her side, her white eyes fading back to their normal blue. She heard Charles moving towards her. She looked at him. "I think what we'll do is take the children to the amusement park tomorrow. Just to at least give them some fun." Charles suggested.  
  
Storm nodded. "Sounds like a good idea, Charles." She sighed, as she thought about Elizabeth, "Charles, will Brian come back to the institute?"  
  
Charles sighed. He honestly didn't know whether or not Brian would come back. He knew that Elizabeth was lonely without her brother. They were best friends, never separating from each other. Ever since Brian had flown back to Britain, Elizabeth had been depressed, and disturbingly quiet. He looked at Storm, "I honestly don't know, Storm. But, Brian knows he has a place here."  
  
Elizabeth stared out her window, watching the sun set below the ocean in front of her. The ripples glowed with the different colors, reflecting off of the sky. She crossed her arms, each hand grabbing onto the opposite arm. She was invited to attend the event with the team the next day. She didn't want to go. She had told the Professor that she would rather stay behind, with Logan offering to stay as well. Logan was going to work with her in the danger room the next day.  
  
Her mind trailed in thought; she thought of her brother, and how much she missed his company. He was the only one in the world who could understand her. She couldn't understand on why he wanted to leave so suddenly. He had told her the reason, but she just couldn't grip onto why he wouldn't stick around, with them going through the pain together. She didn't probe his mind to find the real reason. She wondered if he did think anything else of her; thought of her to be something other than his sister. Her concentration broke, as she heard a knock at her door. "Come in, Peter." She said, knowing it was him.  
  
Peter opened the door, looking in. He saw Elizabeth standing at her window, staring out. "How'd you know it was me?" He asked, walking into the room. He closed the door behind him.  
  
Elizabeth shook her head, with a slight smile forming on her lips. "Peter, I'm psychic, not stupid."  
  
Peter shrugged, and walked towards her. He sat on the bay window seat, looking at her. He noticed she had braided her hair back, with the braid draped over her shoulder, falling to her waist. "You alright, Elizabeth?" He asked with concern.  
  
Peter stared at her, waiting for a response. He was waiting for her to come back at him with a cocky remark. But, this time he wasn't going to walk away from her. He had never seen anyone like her his whole life. When he came to America from his homeland in Russia, he thought he would have seen the variety of women in the free world. Ever since he had walked through the Professor's office door, and laid eyes on Elizabeth, he couldn't stop staring at her, or even stop thinking about her. She was constantly on his mind. The more he saw of her, the more attracted he became. He adored her fiery personality. She finally looked at him, sensing his long stare.  
  
Elizabeth sat next to Peter on the bay window seat. She shook her head at his question. "Not really," She answered. "Brian and I have never been separated. Save for the abduction I'd gone through; but, otherwise, never."  
  
Peter sighed, attempting to understand her. He was shocked at how vulnerable she became. "You know, I have a sister in Russia. She's only seven." He said.  
  
Elizabeth looked up at him. "You miss her?" She asked.  
  
Peter nodded. "Terribly. But; this is the only place for me to be. I haven't seen her since I left Russia a couple of years ago. I did nothing but watch over her. She followed me everywhere; from the day she could walk, she had to go everywhere I went." He smiled, remembering his little sister.  
  
Elizabeth smiled. "Wow, that's the first time you've really smiled at me!" Peter grinned, with a twinge of shock in his voice.  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "I suppose so." She smiled.  
  
They looked away from each other, out of nervousness. An uncomfortable silence fell between them. He looked at her, "So, did you have fun going out today?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah. Went to the mall, having some girl time."  
  
Peter glared into her eyes. Elizabeth nervously moved back away from him. "What?" She asked. She felt vulnerable; a feeling she hated.  
  
A smile formed on Peter's face. "Let's go out for dinner. Say, tomorrow night?" He smiled, leaning towards her.  
  
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously, "Are you asking me out on a date?"  
  
Peter shrugged. "Why not?"  
  
Elizabeth began to shake her head, but stopped as Peter rolled his eyes, "Oh, come on Elizabeth. What do I have to do?" He snapped.  
  
"Do for what?" Elizabeth questioned him.  
  
"Elizabeth, I have been throwing signs at you, trying to be nice to you, and you've thrown them back into my face! I just only want to get to know you better, for crying out loud," Peter eased, "I'm not going to kill you, take any kind of advantage of you, anything! You'd beat the crap out of me!"  
  
Elizabeth sighed, and looked at him. "Peter, I don't know if I really should. I'm telling you, that things are really messed up in my head right now. I'm going through some stress at the moment."  
  
Peter took a deep breath. He wanted to be there for her with whatever she was going through. The fact that she was vulnerable in front of him attracted him more, with him knowing that she was being a girl. She actually had feelings. "Elizabeth, then let me at least be there for you, and help you out with anything! I promise; we're only going to go out to dinner to get to know each other. I won't try anything." Peter offered.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, not really knowing what to say. She finally agreed, "Alright, Peter. But just as friends." She reminded him.  
  
Peter nodded, and held up his hand, "Friends." He agreed.  
  
Elizabeth smiled at him. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Elizabeth. Are you going to the park with us?" Peter asked, standing up.  
  
Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm going to go through some sessions in the danger room with Logan tomorrow."  
  
Peter nodded. "Alright, well, be ready by the time we all come home." He smiled.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, and watched him leave. She turned, still sitting on the bay window seat, and saw that the sun had set and darkness had fallen over the town. 


	3. Attempted Murder

Attempted Murder  
  
Brian walked towards the airport with a duffel bag in his hand. He smiled to himself; he felt as if everything made sense. About his sister's past; her true identity. He was anxious to see his sister, and apologize for running away. He knew why he should have stayed at the Institute. His sister was there for him with everything he'd gone through. He was there for his sister; he was the shoulder for her to cry on. He remembered how often his mother gave them the line of advice, "Stay out of trouble."  
  
Brian walked to the ticket counter. He handed the attendant the ticket, checking into the gates leading towards his plane. Brian walked through the tunnel towards the plane. He remembered the pranks they would play on Jamie. They were double the trouble; they loved action just the same; they consistently craved the action and consequences for fun. He sat in his assigned seat, and let out a deep exhale. "Right when I see the Lizard, I'm going to grab onto her, and hang her upside down by her ankles!" He thought to himself. He laughed lightly, as he remembered his usual way to get her to submit when they would wrestle. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do!" He smiled.  
  
Elizabeth walked out of the danger room with a towel around the back of her shoulders. She sighed, "Logan! I'm going to get in the shower and take a nap!" She called to him.  
  
"Alright, Betsy!" Logan acknowledged, as he drank out of his bottle of water.  
  
Logan watched Elizabeth walk out of the danger room. They had just finished a session, teaming together. He was surprised by how well they fought, side to side. "She just may be my match." Logan said to himself.  
  
Logan dug into the inside of his suit, and pulled out his victory cigar. He took a puff, and waved the lit match, putting it out. He exhaled the smoke, as he sat on a step in the danger room. The danger room doors closed, as Elizabeth exited the room. He sighed, and thought about her. He knew that she was still a teenager; a high school student. He combed his hand through his thick black hair, and sighed. He was a rather old man; he didn't know exactly how old, due to the memory displacement he had due to the trauma of what he had gone through. He knew he was rather older than the Professor, especially if he had memories of World War II.  
  
He remembered what she asked, regarding his acknowledgement of S.H.I.E.L.D. It wasn't convenient for somebody to pop up in his life, with a connection to his former employer. They had so much in common, it scared him. He shook his head, as he thought of the common personality traits he had seen from her. She had the love of hand to hand combat just as much as he did. And most important; they have their pasts; their lives stolen away; taken against their wills due to their mutant powers; completely transformed. He was smitten; really smitten with Elizabeth.  
  
Elizabeth slept, in her bed, and turned to her side. She adjusted her face into the pillow, sighing as she did so. She had an exercise with Logan, with a hot shower afterwards. She was exhausted.  
  
Sabertooth stared at the mansion from the gates. He sniffed the air, and smiled, knowing the security system was off. He could smell that familiar smell, embedded in his mind. It was her. The rookie from the X Men that was the cause of his failure. He growled as he jumped up to the top of the fence. He swung himself over, and landed on the ground, squatting to break his fall.  
  
Logan typed into the danger control room system. He concentrated on updating the team's exercises. He knew that Elizabeth must have gone to sleep.  
  
Elizabeth opened her eyes, as she sensed a presence within the mansion walls. She sat up, and raised an eyebrow, concentrating on what the presence was. Her long, thick black hair fell to her waist as she sat up. She wanted to be safe; she quickly turned, pressing the call button on her nightstand, to the danger control room. "Logan?"  
  
Logan looked up from the computer, to the call button, as he heard Elizabeth call for him. He pressed the button, "Yeah Betsy?"  
  
"Logan, I'm sensing a presence. Like something is in the mansion. Are the security systems on?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
Logan raised an eyebrow with suspicion. "No, Betsy. I'll check it out. Stay in your room!" Logan demanded.  
  
Elizabeth didn't answer. She of course didn't want to listen to that. She wanted to help in case anything was in the mansion. She rushed out of bed, throwing the sheets off of her. She opened her dresser drawer, and pulled out her black leather X Uniform. She quickly changed into the uniform, and grabbed her katana sword handle. She shoved the handle in the pocket behind her. She grabbed for a hair tie.  
  
Sabertooth sniffed down a hallway, and stopped in front of a door. He grinned, as he stared at it. He knew who was behind that door; the one he came for. His sense of smell was keen enough to pick up the strength of the smell.  
  
Elizabeth looked at her door, as she sensed a presence in the hallway. She saw a silhouette under her door. She stared at her door, and reached behind her, for her katana sword handle. Suddenly, the door broke down. Sabertooth stood in her doorway, growling at her. "There you are!" He growled.  
  
Elizabeth backed up, with a frightened look on her face. She grabbed her katana sword handle from her back pocket. Sabertooth ran for her, and she flipped over him, with the blade forming on her sword handle. She cut his back, as she flipped over him. She ran out of the room. Sabertooth's cut healed, and he chased after her. Elizabeth ran down the stairs. She turned around when she reached the bottom, and saw Sabertooth leaping towards her. She ducked as he jumped at her. He landed behind her, and she swung around. He swung at her, and she rolled under it. She threw her sword into him, and he stared at it. He pulled the sword out, and the blade disappeared. He threw the handle on the ground. Elizabeth lit her left fist, and he pounced at her. She jumped at him, kicking him in the chest. He flew back, and looked at her, growling. She stared at him, and he leapt at her, and stared at her. "Time for revenge, girly!" Sabertooth growled.  
  
He swiped at her, and she blocked it, and kicked him in the stomach. She held onto his arm, and flipped him onto the ground. She threw her leg down on him, and he blocked it, and pushed her away. Sabertooth flipped up, and picked up a statue. He threw it at her, and she ducked. It fell to the stairs, and shattered. He jumped at her, but, Logan rushed in front of her, and stabbed him with his claws. He threw him back. "You want me, bub? Come and get me!" Logan snarled, as he unsheathed his other set of claws.  
  
"I don't want you Logan! I came for the girl!" Sabertooth yelled.  
  
Logan looked at Elizabeth, then back at Sabertooth. "You can't have her, Creed!" Logan snapped.  
  
"Then I'll get through you to get to her!" Sabertooth snapped.  
  
His wound from Logan healed, and he jumped at him. Logan swiped at him, but Sabertooth grabbed his arm. He lifted Logan into the air by his arm and threw him through the doorway. He rushed to Logan, and grabbed him by his arms. He lifted him up, and threw him again outside. Logan cried out, as he was thrown into the statue in the center of the pond. Sabertooth turned around, and saw Elizabeth standing at the doorway of the mansion, staring at the scene. He rushed at her, as Elizabeth backed up into the mansion, staring at him. He reached her, and she flipped backwards, kicking him in the chin. He shook it off, and swiped at her. She blocked it, and punched him in the stomach. She then swung him around, and stabbed him in the back of the neck with her psychic blade. She jumped on his back, locking her legs around him, with her psychic blade still in the back of his neck. He fell to the ground. She stood up, and rushed to the door. "Logan! Are you alright?" She yelled.  
  
Logan looked up from the pond. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked at Elizabeth. He saw Sabertooth sneaking behind her. "Betsy! Look out!" He yelled.  
  
Logan rushed up and ran towards the mansion doorway. Elizabeth turned around, and Sabertooth grabbed her by the neck. He lifted her up, "You're little psychic blade won't work on me!" Sabertooth snapped.  
  
He pulled her forward. "Scream for me!" He growled.  
  
He let her go for a quick second, and swiped his claws at her rib cage. Elizabeth cried out, and fell to the ground. He picked her up, and threw her against the wall. He turned around, and Logan jumped on him, and stabbed him with both sets of claws. Sabertooth screamed in pain and kicked Logan off of him. Sabertooth ran towards the gates, escaping. "A taste of things to come, old friend!" Sabertooth screamed, as he ran away.  
  
Logan quickly turned, and saw Elizabeth on the ground, unconscious. He rushed to his feet, and rushed to her. He held her up. Blood poured from the wound on the left side of her rib cage. "Oh God! Betsy? Betsy speak to me!" Logan said.  
  
He picked her up, and ran with her to the infirmary. 


	4. Bittersweet Homecoming

Bittersweet Homecoming  
  
Jean stopped in her tracks, as they walked towards the car. They were leaving the amusement park, ready to go home. She placed her hand on her temple, feeling a pain shoot through her head. "Jean? Are you alright?" Scott asked cautiously.  
  
Jean began shaking her head slowly, "Scott, something's wrong. Something's happened!" She looked at him with a look of shock, "Scott, you have to have the Professor call the institute! Something terrible has happened!" Jean panicked.  
  
Charles looked at his cell phone as it rang. He answered it, "Yes Logan?" He asked.  
  
Charles stopped, immediately knowing what Logan had called about. He sensed Elizabeth's pain, and unconsciousness. "Prof! Sabertooth broke in; Betsy's out! You have to come back to the mansion ASAP!" Logan panicked.  
  
"We'll be right there, Logan." Charles gasped.  
  
Logan carefully laid Elizabeth on an empty bed in the infirmary. He saw the blood pouring out of her wound on her left rib cage. He grabbed gauze, and bandaged Elizabeth's wound. He looked at her face, and rubbed her forehead. "Oh, Betsy! I'm so sorry!" He lightly said.  
  
Her body began convulsing. Hank rushed into the infirmary. Charles soon followed. "She's in shock!" Hank said.  
  
Hank began treating her. "I couldn't get to her soon enough!" Logan sighed.  
  
"Logan, what happened?" Charles asked.  
  
"Sabertooth. He broke in. I was in the danger control room, and Betts was takin' a nap in her room. She said she sensed it; she called me, to let me know. He got to her before me. He said he came for her." Logan sighed, trying to stay calm.  
  
Logan glanced at Elizabeth, watching Hank treat her. He looked at Charles. Charles placed his hand on Logan's arm, "You did what you could."  
  
"I've stabilized her, Professor," Hank sighed, "Unfortunately; the shock has placed her in coma. I'll monitor her."  
  
"Elizabeth?" Peter panicked, rushing into the infirmary.  
  
Peter looked at Elizabeth. He saw her lying in the bed, hooked up to different monitors. "Dr. McCoy? What's wrong?" Peter asked.  
  
"She's in a coma, Peter." Hank sighed.  
  
Peter stared at her. He then looked at Hank with a confused look on his face, "Dr. McCoy, is she going to be okay?" Peter asked.  
  
Logan sighed, and pulled a chair up next to Elizabeth's bedside. He rested his chin on his folded hands, staring at her. Charles looked behind him, and saw the others staring from the observation window leading into the room. Rogue cautiously walked in, staring at Elizabeth's body. "Prof; you may not know this, but-", Rogue began.  
  
Rogue stopped herself, not knowing what to say. She knew that the Professor was able to sense what she was going to tell him. "Prof, please tell me she'll be okay." Rogue sighed, looking at Charles.  
  
Charles looked at her, with a look of sadness in his eyes, "I don't know, Rogue."  
  
"Rogue, what were you going to say?" Peter asked her, turning to her.  
  
Rogue stopped, as she heard the doorbell ring from inside the mansion. She then looked at Peter, "Brian's coming back."  
  
Peter's mouth dropped, "Now?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "He called to tell me. He wanted to surprise her, so I swore I wouldn't tell anyone. I don't know what he's going to do seein' her like this!" Rogue panicked.  
  
"I'll handle Brian. I'll be back." Charles sighed.  
  
Peter pulled up a chair, and sat on the other side of Elizabeth's bed. Rogue sat in a chair next to Peter. Peter's eyes looked up at Logan, across from him. He saw Logan staring at Elizabeth. "What happened, Logan?" Peter asked, with an eyebrow raised.  
  
Logan looked up at Peter, "I don't want to talk about this now, kid." He sighed.  
  
Logan looked back at Elizabeth. Peter turned his head, as he heard someone running into the infirmary. "Betsy!" Brian screamed.  
  
Peter and Rogue shot up from their seats, as Brian rushed in between them, to Elizabeth's bed. He stared at her, with tears swelling in his eyes. He shut his eyes, as he grabbed her hand. "Who did this to her?" He growled.  
  
"Brian, I'm so sorry." Rogue sighed, placing her gloved hand on his arm.  
  
Brian turned his head away from her, "Don't apologize, Rogue. Just tell me who did this!"  
  
Rogue and Peter looked at each other. "Brian, it was Sabertooth." Peter explained.  
  
Hank stared at Brian, as he stood next to Logan. Brian looked up at him, "Dr. McCoy, will Betsy be okay?" Brian asked.  
  
Hank and Logan looked at each other, and then back at Brian. Hank shrugged, shaking his head, "I don't know, Brian. I'm so sorry."  
  
Brian knelt down where he stood, and stared at Elizabeth. "Betsy, I'm back now. I'm not going to let him get away with this." Brian vowed to his sister.  
  
He noticed the bruise on her cheek. He saw how lifeless she looked. He looked up at Logan, as Logan stood up, and walked out of the room without saying a word. 


	5. Searching For Answers

Searching For Answers  
  
Jean walked into the infirmary, with a vase of flowers in her hand. She saw Brian sitting in the same seat, staring at his sister. Peter sat on the other side of Elizabeth's bed, holding her hand, with his head lying on his arm. He was fast asleep. She sighed, and walked towards the stand next to Elizabeth's bed, squeezing herself behind Peter to do so. She placed the vase on the stand, and saw Brian looking up at her. She looked at Elizabeth, and rubbed her forehead. "Jean?" He said, breaking the silence.  
  
Jean looked up at him. Brian sighed heavily. "Have you called your mom about Betsy?" Jean asked.  
  
Brian shook his head. "I don't know what to say to my mum. She'll freak out, and fly here immediately. I don't think I'll be able to calm her down enough not to do so." Brian rubbed his eyes with his hand, and looked back at Jean, "Jean, can you probe her mind? I want to know exactly what happened."  
  
Jean looked at Elizabeth, and sighed. "I don't know if I should, Brian. It may be too traumatizing, even for my head." Jean sighed.  
  
Brian leaned forward towards her, resting his hands on Elizabeth's hand. "Please, Jean! I have to know!" Brian begged.  
  
Jean thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright, Brian." She finally agreed.  
  
Logan sighed as he stared out to the ocean from the Cliffside near the hanger area. He thought about Elizabeth, remembering how Sabertooth tossed her away like she was nothing more than a slab of meat. The thought enraged him. It was bad enough that all of the kids were like his own; ones that he had to watch over and protect with his life. But, once Elizabeth made the first move at him during their first training session, he knew there was something different about her. He shook his head; "I shouldn't have taken you on the mission, Betsy." He thought to himself.  
  
His face turned red with anger, as he thought about Sabertooth. He was an old enemy of Logan's; going as far back as he could even remember. He was baffled on why Sabertooth was running loose in the first place. He thought that Sabertooth was away with Magneto and the Acolytes. Sabertooth had now added another enemy to his list; Elizabeth. Logan stared at his claws, as they slid out of their openings on top of his hand. "You just made it personal." He growled.  
  
Jean opened her eyes with shock, staring at Elizabeth. "What happened?" Brian asked, impatiently.  
  
Jean looked up at Brian, with her mouth dropped. She finally cleared her throat. "Brian; the pain! I couldn't even finish going through her mind! There was so much pain in her head." Jean said, shaking her head.  
  
Brian raised his eyebrow at her, "How much did you look at, Jean?" He asked suspiciously.  
  
Jean took a deep breath, and looked at him. "Brian, Logan tried to save her. He couldn't get to her fast enough." Jean began.  
  
Brian sat back, staring at her, ready for the explanation of what happened.  
  
Kurt sighed, reading his book. He looked up, and saw Kitty solemnly looking at her nails. He sat up, and looked at her. "Kitty?" He asked.  
  
Kitty looked at him. "Are you alright?" Kurt asked, through his German English accent.  
  
Kitty shrugged, "I don't know, Kurt. Nothing this serious has happened here before. I've never even seen Peter or Logan this concerned with anyone." Kitty said that last line with a twinge of jealousy.  
  
Kurt raised his eyebrow, "Are you jealous, Kitty?" He asked.  
  
Kurt knew Kitty too well. She was like a sister to him. He knew how to read her. Kitty sighed, "Well, Kurt, between you and me, I've had a little crush on Peter for some time. Ever since he came to the institute. Now, Logan on the other hand; I've just had a good relationship with him, and now Elizabeth comes to the institute. He's been around her almost all the time." Kitty sighed.  
  
Kurt sat back, and looked at her. Kitty sat up straight, and put her long thick brown hair back into the trademark ponytail of hers. She relaxed her elbows on her knees, and looked at him. "What about Lance, Kitty?" Kurt asked.  
  
Kitty shrugged. "I don't know what he thinks of me. It's so confusing to get him, it's like, he plays with my head or something." Kitty answered.  
  
Brian saw Peter sleeping on his arm, while holding Elizabeth's hand. He smiled; he knew Peter had feelings for Elizabeth. He thought of Peter as an honest guy, knowing he would be the only one who could tame the shrew. He frowned, as he looked back at his sister. He grew angry, as he thought of what Jean had told him. She had told him every move Sabertooth had done to his sister. His thoughts were broken as Rogue walked into the room. Rogue pulled up a chair next to Brian. Brian looked up at her. She faintly smiled at him, "How you holdin' up?"  
  
Brian shrugged. "I still need to call my mum about Betts. I really have no idea what she'll do or say."  
  
Rogue nodded. Brian looked back at his sister, "You know, I had Jean probe Betsy's mind, to tell me what happened," He began. Brian looked at Rogue, "One memory she remembers was you and her spending time at the mall together." He smiled.  
  
Rogue sat back, looking at him, with a faint smile forming on her lips, "Really?"  
  
Brian nodded. "I think Betsy really fancies you as a friend." Brian smiled.  
  
Rogue looked at Elizabeth, and nodded, "Yeah, I think Betsy's pretty cool too." She looked at Brian, and saw him staring at his sister, "Brian, she was really upset when you left. She was depressed the whole time you were gone."  
  
Brian shook his head, with tears coming to his eyes, "I should have never left. She wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place."  
  
Rogue placed her gloved hand on his arm, "Brian, there was nothing that could have been changed. Betsy's first mission may have been the cause of Sabertooth comin' after her. Who knows? But, Brian, don't blame yourself. There was nothing that could have changed of what happened to her." Rogue explained, trying to bring a sense of reality to him.  
  
Brian sighed, "Rogue, I've spent my whole life looking after Betsy. That's the way my father raised me to be. Betsy was the little girl of the family. My father treasured her. After our father passed away, I felt the need to take his place for him. I was going to be the one to give her away at her wedding, I was going to be the one to protect her and watch out for her. That's why Betsy and I have never separated. We've just always been so close."  
  
Rogue nodded. Brian sighed again, and continued, "I'm going to find this Sabertooth, and kill him for what he's done to her."  
  
Rogue looked at him, "Brian, you can't. Sabertooth is hidden with another group of mutants. Sabertooth is so hard to locate; plus he'll kill you! He nearly took out Betsy!"  
  
Brian shook his head, "Rogue, you don't know what I can do when it comes to messing with my family." He snapped.  
  
Peter opened his eyes, and looked up at the two across from him. Rogue looked at Peter across from her, "Well, Peter may be the only one who knows where to find him."  
  
Peter rubbed his eyes groggily, and looked at them. "Find who?" He asked.  
  
"Where's Sabertooth?" Brian demanded.  
  
Peter shook his head, "You're not going after him, Brian."  
  
Brian shot up to his feet. He stared at Peter, "Don't piss me off, Peter!" He hissed.  
  
Peter looked at Brian with a look of shock on his face, "Brian, ease down! I want to go after Sabertooth just as much as you do! But, you can't locate him! I don't even know where to find him anymore! Magneto moves around so much it's insane!" Peter sighed.  
  
Logan leaned against the doorway to the infirmary, staring at the scene in the infirmary. He drank the last gulp of his beer, and threw it into the garbage can. He walked into the room, "How's the progress?" He asked, changing the subject.  
  
Brian looked at Logan, as he sat back in his seat. Peter looked up at him, "Nothing yet. Dr. McCoy was in here earlier checking up on her, but nothing's changed."  
  
Logan sighed, as he looked at Elizabeth. "What are you fightin' about anyway?" Logan snapped.  
  
"Brian's wantin' to find Sabertooth." Rogue sighed.  
  
Logan looked at Brian. "You really think you're going to find him, kid?" Logan asked.  
  
"I will find him, is the correct statement. And once I do, I'm going to kill him, starting with ripping off every appendage from his body!" Brian angrily snapped.  
  
Logan shook his head, "You're not going to be able to find Sabertooth, kid."  
  
"Why not?" Brian asked, with frustration in his voice.  
  
"Because, kid. He's hidin' behind his master Magneto. Magneto's found a way to shield himself from the Prof. We have to usually wait until one of them pops up." Logan explained.  
  
Rogue tried to ease things down from around her. She took out a book from her back pack, and began reading aloud to Elizabeth. Brian looked at Rogue. Peter raised his eyebrow staring at Rogue across from him. "Rogue, what are you doing?" Peter asked.  
  
"Reading to Betsy. Besides, I heard that reading to a coma patient heightens the chances of 'em wakin up." Rogue sighed, and looked at the three men standing around her. "Besides, I don't see ya'all makin much of a difference for progress!" She snapped. 


	6. The Truth Is Out

The Truth Is Out  
  
Jamie walked into the study, staring at his mother. She had the phone in her hand, as she stood in the middle of the room, in front of the fireplace. She was staring at the lit fire, as she held the phone to her mouth. "Mum? You alright?" Jamie asked with concern.  
  
Yvonne broke into tears, as she placed the phone onto the receiver. Jamie rushed to comfort his mother. "Jamie, something terrible has happened." She sobbed.  
  
Jamie hugged his mother, "Mum, tell me. What happened?" He asked.  
  
Yvonne looked up at him. "Betsy. She's been hurt." She began.  
  
Jamie stepped back to fully look at his mother. "What? What happened?"  
  
"Brian had just called. He said that a mutant had broken into the mansion and attacked her!" Yvonne sobbed.  
  
"Is she going to be okay?" Jamie asked, beginning to panic.  
  
Yvonne shrugged, "She's in a coma. They have her at the institute, and are treating her. Brian insisted that we don't come down there."  
  
"How can he be so bloody stupid? We have to go down there, mum!" Jamie snapped.  
  
Yvonne wiped her face clear of the tears, and walked to the black velvet lounge chair in front of the fireplace. She sat down, and stared at the fire, "I want to go and see her, Jamie. I really do. But, Brian insisted that she was under the perfect care. I'll call him tomorrow for an update. If anything goes worse, we're going down there." Yvonne sighed.  
  
Logan walked into the infirmary. He saw that it was empty, save for Elizabeth in the bed. The other students have gone to school for the day. Brian was forced to go by Charles, being assured that everything would be okay. He sighed, and walked towards the bed, and sat in one of the three chairs along the bedside. He sat in the chair closest to her head. The bruise on her cheek had gone down. Her wound was still bandaged, after being stitched by Hank. He looked at her face; it was pale, with a slight yellowish color. She had IV's hooked into her right wrist, for the fluids she would need to survive during her coma. Her eyes were closed shut. He waited for them to open. He saw her hair draped around her face, and body. The black color of her hair stood out from the white sheets she laid upon, and that laid on her body. He lightly ran his hand down her hair, and settled his hand over hers. He sighed, and looked at her. "Betsy, I'm so sorry," He began. He looked around, and behind him, making sure no one else was around, and continued, "I'm realizing that this whole thing is a need for something to come off my chest." He paused. He couldn't bring himself to tell her. He shook his head; he had never been in love with anything but his collection of motorcycles in the carport. He didn't know what love was; whether it was love for her, or just admiration.  
  
Logan decided not to tell her. He figured she would be able to sense it anyway. He knew that Peter had a little 'crush' on her. He thought that if anyone should be with Elizabeth, it should be Peter; he was her own age for crying out loud. He settled his thoughts, by leaning forward, and kissing her lightly on her lips. He sat back in his chair, and waited for her to hopefully open her eyes.  
  
Kitty walked into the crowded cafeteria. She walked towards a table, and sat, placing her backpack onto the table in front of her. "Hey, Kitty." She heard.  
  
Kitty turned around, and saw Lance settling onto the chair next to her. His dark brown hair embraced around his face, falling to his chin. "You cut your hair!" Kitty noticed.  
  
Lance grinned, combing the wisps of brown hair out of his face. Kitty nodded with approval, "Looks good!" She smirked.  
  
Lance eased, and looked at her, "Kitty, I hear you have two new mutants at the Institute." He sighed.  
  
Kitty looked at Lance, "Who'd you hear that from?"  
  
Lance shrugged, "Pietro."  
  
"Pietro told you?" Kitty asked, raising an eyebrow out of suspicion.  
  
Lance nodded, "Yeah, Pietro said that there were two new recruits at the Institute," Lance paused, and sighed. He then continued, "I heard what happened."  
  
Kitty was taken back at his last comment, "Heard what happened?"  
  
"To the new girl. I heard what Sabertooth did to her." Lance said.  
  
Kitty leaned forward, "Lance, how do you know this?"  
  
Lance hesitated, "Uh-", He began to stutter, "Well, Kitty, I didn't tell you anything, okay?" He began.  
  
Kitty nodded, and leaned forward to him, when Lance gestured for her to do so. Lance whispered into her ear, "Apparently Magneto found out about her through Pietro. Magneto sent Sabertooth to lure her to the labs, and to capture her." Lance whispered. Kitty's eyes opened with shock, as he told her the secret piece of information, "Magneto wants her to join his Acolytes. Now that with what Sabertooth did to her, Magneto's not a happy camper, if you get my drift."  
  
Lance pulled away, after he told Kitty the information. "I don't believe this." Kitty sighed.  
  
"Remember, Kitty. I didn't tell you." Lance reminded.  
  
Kitty nodded, "Don't worry Lance. I won't say that you told me, okay?"  
  
Lance nodded. He stood up, "I'll see you later, Kitty."  
  
Kitty nodded, as Lance walked away towards his gang of thug mutants known as the Brotherhood. She looked around the cafeteria, her eyes searching for Jean. She saw Jean sitting at the familiar 'Jock Table', as others liked to refer to it as. She grabbed her back pack, and rushed to Jean. "Jean!" She called.  
  
Jean looked up from talking with Taryn. She saw Kitty rushing towards her. Kitty grabbed onto Jean's arms, "Jean, I have to talk to you! It's about Elizabeth!" She panicked.  
  
Jean looked at her, "Alright, Kitty, calm down." She said.  
  
Jean walked away from the crowd, with Kitty still holding onto her arms. "Kitty, what's wrong?" Jean asked.  
  
Kitty began to gasp. She finally calmed herself, and let go of Jean's arms. "Magneto set up that whole Sabertooth thing when Logan, Beast, Rogue and Betsy went after him. Magneto wanted Elizabeth for the Acolytes! The whole thing was set up! Magneto apparently is pissed when he found out what Sabertooth did to Elizabeth!" Kitty panicked.  
  
Jean shook her head, raising her eyebrow at Kitty. "Kitty, how did Magneto even find out about her?"  
  
Kitty looked up at Jean, "Pietro. Pietro told Magneto about Elizabeth."  
  
Jean sighed, "Well, don't worry, Kitty. We'll let the Professor know about this when we get home, okay?"  
  
Kitty nodded hesitantly. "Alright, Jean." 


	7. A Frustrated Attempt

A Frustrated Attempt  
  
Peter sat in his seat in art class. He sat at a long wooden table, with two other students. He concentrated on the large sketch book in front of him; his charcoal chalk sketching on the paper furiously. A smile formed at the corners of his mouth, as he stared at the sketch. He stopped, and ran his free hand through his spiked short, jet black hair. "That's beautiful, Peter. Where'd you get the inspiration for that?" He heard from behind him.  
  
Peter turned his head, and saw his art teacher, smiling down at the sketch book on the table in front of Peter. He looked back at the sketch, "Oh, thanks Mr. Conner." He smiled.  
  
Peter's ice blue eyes searched the sketch, with the gleam in his eyes. He had just finished sketching a field of flowers, with a stream of water at the bottom of the sketch. Behind the field, was grass covered hills. "So, what inspired you to sketch this, Peter?" Mr. Conner asked, leaning towards the sketch.  
  
Peter shrugged, "Well, it's not finished quite yet. But, the inspiration comes from the girl of my dreams." Peter sheepishly said.  
  
Mr. Conner put his hand on Peter's shoulder, and smiled. Peter looked up at his teacher. "I think it's a beautiful piece." His teacher complimented.  
  
Peter smiled back at him, and looked back at his sketch. He placed the chalk on the paper, and began moving the chalk in his hand, carefully over the paper. He was going to surprise Elizabeth with this sketch; and hopefully impress her with his hidden talent in art.  
  
Hank replaced the empty IV bag with a full one. He was not wearing his image inducer, his blue ape like body, standing at Elizabeth's bedside. He wore his white long lab coat, with his glasses over his eyes. He brushed back his long dark blue hair, and groaned as he stared at the EKG monitor. "Nothing's changed." He said to himself.  
  
He looked down at Elizabeth's body in the bed, with sympathy in his eyes. "You know, my lady, no one has ever brought so much worry to the institute as you have." Hank smiled, speaking to her.  
  
He placed the pressure wrap around her limp arm, and pressed his finger onto the button to the blood pressure monitor. He stared at the monitor, as the wrap around her arm inflated. He noticed Logan standing at the observation window outside of the infirmary. He turned his attention back to the monitor that had finally read her blood pressure. He carefully took the wrap from around her arm, and hung it over the stand the monitor stood on. He grabbed the clipboard on the stand behind him, and wrote the information down.  
  
Logan stared into the infirmary, with his dark brown eyebrows in a narrow worry line. He crossed his arms, sighing. He watched Hank writing down the information from the monitors. He looked to his side, as the phone on the wall rang. He grabbed the phone, and answered, "Hello, Xavier's Institute for the Gifted."  
  
"Uh, yes. This is Yvonne Braddock, Elizabeth's mother? With whom am I speaking with?" Logan heard on the other line.  
  
Logan raised his eyebrow, as he heard the voice speaking to him, with a posh, thick British accent. "Mrs. Braddock, my name's Logan. I'm on the staff here. You callin' to check up on Betsy?" Logan asked.  
  
"Yes. I'm calling to check her progress. Brian had called me yesterday in regards to her condition," Yvonne paused, trying to hold back her tears, "Sir, please. Tell me; how is my daughter?"  
  
Logan immediately felt the sympathy for Elizabeth's mother. If the children that were not even his worried him, he couldn't possibly imagine what a parent would be feeling with their own child lying in a coma such as Elizabeth was. Logan thought of what to tell her. He was stumped. He finally spoke, "Mrs. Braddock, how about I let you speak to the institute Doctor who's takin care of Betsy. His name's Dr. Hank McCoy. Let me get him for you." Logan said.  
  
Logan tapped on the window. Hank looked up from the monitor at him. Logan gestured to the phone in his hand. Hank walked placed his clipboard on the stand behind him, and walked out of the infirmary. Logan handed the phone to him. "It's Betsy's mom. She wants to know how Betts is doin'." Logan explained.  
  
Hank took the phone from Logan. Logan walked into the infirmary, and sat in the chair at Elizabeth's bedside. "Yes, Mrs. Braddock, this is Dr. McCoy." Hank answered on the phone.  
  
"Please, Dr. McCoy. I need to know how my Betsy is doing! Brian hasn't really told me anything at all." Yvonne panicked.  
  
Hank took off his glasses, and wiped his brow nervously. "Mrs. Braddock, I understand how you are feeling. I'm going to be truthful with you, ma'am. Elizabeth had puncture wounds at her left side of her rib cage. The fortunate part is, is that her attacker had barely missed her arteries. But, with the blood loss, and the head trauma she had received, the shock had placed her in a coma. I have been monitoring her progress; her heart rate is normal, her blood pressure is a little low, but we are doing everything we possibly can to bring her back and get her up and going." Hank explained.  
  
Logan stared at Elizabeth's body in front of him. He heard the familiar beep from the EKG monitor, monitoring her heart rate. He shook his head, and placed his hand over hers. "Betsy, please. Come back. Open your eyes, Betts." Logan whispered.  
  
He looked at Elizabeth's face, as her eyes remained shut. He could hear Hank outside of the infirmary, explaining to Elizabeth's mother, and trying to calm her down. He turned back to Elizabeth, and placed his chin on the hand resting over hers. He stared at her, "Betsy, Brian has come back. He's waiting for you to open your eyes, Betsy." He sighed.  
  
Logan sighed, as he waited for her to hopefully open her eyes. Still; nothing. He buried his face into his hand, and continued to wait for some movement that she could possibly make.  
  
Brian hurriedly opened the passenger door of Peter's black Escalade. He rushed out of the truck, and closed the door after him. Peter stepped out of his car, and watched Brian rush into the mansion through the carport door. He sighed, and closed the door after him, walking towards the mansion door.  
  
Brian rushed up the split staircase, his feet pounding up the velvet covered steps. He reached the top of the stairs, and ran towards the right wing to Elizabeth's room. He opened her door, which was repaired by Logan after Sabertooth had broken it down. He saw her room empty, her full sized bed in the center of the room against the dark brown wooden wall. The bed was made, with her two pillows laid against her oak headboard, on top of her dark purple comforter. He walked into the room, and looked at her vanity mirror hanging against the wall above her long wooden dresser. He saw the family photo shoved into the rim of the mirror and its dark brown oak frame. He grabbed the photo, and shoved it into his pocket. He walked to her closet, and opened the door. He looked around on the floor, and saw a box hidden in the back of the closet. He knelt down, and grabbed onto the box, and dragged it out of its spot, towards him. He pulled open the top, and saw pictures piled on top of each other in the box. He dug through them, pulling out different photos of memories.  
  
Peter walked into the infirmary, and sat in the chair next to Logan. "Anything?" Peter asked.  
  
Logan stared at Elizabeth, and shook his head. "Where's the others?" Logan asked.  
  
"Well, Brian and I didn't have to go to study hall today. So we got out a period early. The others are still in school." Peter answered him.  
  
Peter ran his hand up his forehead, and through his black hair. Brian rushed into the infirmary, with photos in his hand. "I can't take this anymore! I'm going to try and wake her up!" Brian snapped, pulling a chair onto the other side of Elizabeth's bed.  
  
Logan and Peter watched Brian scoot towards Elizabeth's bedside near her head. "Brian, your mom called today." Logan said.  
  
Brian didn't listen. Brian held up the photo on top of the pile in his hands. He held it up in front of Elizabeth's closed eyes. He brought his face closer, so he could speak to her. The photo was of her and Brian, in Hawaii on one of their family vacations. The photo was taken a couple of years ago. In the photo, Brian held a volleyball under his arm, his blonde hair spiked up, with him wearing dark blue swimming trunks. Elizabeth had her arm rested on his right shoulder, wearing a black bikini. Her thick black hair was down, and draped over her shoulder. They were both smiling into the camera. "Betsy, remember this photo? This was of you and me in Hawaii. Dad took the picture. We had finished a game of volleyball, remember?" Brian said, holding the photo to Elizabeth's closed eyes. He waited for the hope, of her opening her eyes. Still, nothing. He dug through the photos, and held another to her face.  
  
Logan and Peter watched Brian attempting to wake Elizabeth from her coma. Logan sighed, and stood up. He walked out of the infirmary. Peter took the seat Logan had left, and reached over to Elizabeth's forehead. He rubbed her forehead, and looked at Brian, holding up another photo, insisting for her to open her eyes. "Brian, get some rest." Peter finally said.  
  
Brian looked at him, holding the photo in front of Elizabeth's face. "Look, Betsy's been out cold. I'm not risking for her to not wake up at all. I'm going to get her to wake up no matter what it takes." Brian frustratingly snapped. 


	8. Awakening of the Sleeping Beauty

Awakening of the Sleeping Beauty  
  
Charles sighed, resting his chin on his folded hands. His brow pulled down with concern. He stared at Elizabeth's body, lying in the bed. Jean had just told him what Kitty had learned. He was alone in the infirmary with her. He finally leaned forward, placing his hand on her arm, "Don't worry, Elizabeth. You are safe here." He said, with his fatherly tone.  
  
He was shocked to learn of Magneto wanting Elizabeth for his own team. Charles however, was not worried. He knew Elizabeth too well. He knew that Elizabeth was stronger than that, with the passion of setting a good path for mutants of the world to step out of hiding, and hopefully to be accepted. He leaned back into his wheelchair, and turned towards the door. He stopped, as he saw Rogue standing at the doorway with a book in her hand. "Hi, Prof." Rogue smiled.  
  
Charles smiled at his young gothic student. Rogue leaned against the doorway, her emerald green eyes looking down to the floor. "Don't worry, Rogue. I have confidence that Elizabeth will awaken from her deep sleep." Charles smiled, trying to reassure her.  
  
Rogue looked up at him, and curled a white strand of hair behind her left ear. She walked towards him, "Prof, it's not that. I know she'll come out of this." She stopped in front of him, holding the book to her chest with security, "It's just that Betsy seems to genuinely be a friend to me. Probably one that will end up bein' close to me as well. I'm just really worried about her, Prof." She sighed.  
  
Charles nodded in understanding. "I understand, Rogue. But, remember to have the confidence that she will be strong enough to pull out of this."  
  
Rogue nodded, and walked to the chair at Elizabeth's bedside. She sat down, crossing her leg over the other. She opened her book, holding it on her lap. She began reading aloud to Elizabeth.  
  
"I know, mum! But you can't call every five minutes expecting a result different from the previous one!" Brian said, over the phone.  
  
"Brian, you are my children! Betsy is my daughter and your sister, may I remind you! I have the right to be there for any of you when you are in need of me! I'm going to call every five minutes wanting to know if anything's changed at all!" Yvonne snapped to her son.  
  
Brian sighed, and sunk down into the black leather couch. He had the phone to his ear. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling above him. "Mum, I know. I'm sorry. It's just that this is so frustrating! I've been trying to wake her up, I can't even find out where her attacker is hiding!" Brian groaned.  
  
"Well, I understand, love. But, how about this? You go back to Elizabeth, do what you've been trying to do for the past few days, and wait for her to open her eyes. The minute she does, I want you to give me a ring, okay?" Yvonne asked.  
  
"Alright, mum. I love you." Brian said, before hanging up with his mother.  
  
He stood up, and walked around the black leather couch he sat in, towards the large entry way of the recreational room. He walked into the foyer, and walked to the wall elevator. He pressed the button, and the oak section of the wall slid open, revealing the elevator. He stepped in, with the wall sliding closed after him.  
  
Peter sat on the other side of Elizabeth's bed, staring at Rogue as she read aloud. Brian walked into the room, and sat in the chair next to Peter. He buried his face into his hands, sighing. Brian ran his hands down his face, and rested them in between his knees, folding his fingers together. Peter sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He looked at Brian, "Hey, Brian; what's Elizabeth's favorite flower?" He asked him.  
  
Brian looked at him, trying to keep his eyes open. "Wildflowers and Snapdragons. Why?"  
  
Peter shrugged, "I just figured that when she wakes up, she would like to have her favorite flowers in the room with her." He sighed.  
  
Rogue looked up at Peter from her book. She raised an eyebrow curiously, "Peter?"  
  
Peter looked at her from across Elizabeth's bed. Rogue closed her book, and placed it in her lap. She placed her gloved hands on the book, "You have a crush on Betsy, don't you?"  
  
Peter sat back, and looked at her. He scoffed, "No!"  
  
Brian stared at him, resting his elbows on the edge of the bed in front of him. Peter looked at Brian, and saw him looking at him with a sarcastic look on his face. "No?" Brian asked.  
  
Peter shook his head. "No, I don't have a little crush on Betsy!" Peter lied.  
  
Rogue let out a laugh, "You are such a bad liar! You cannot lie, Peter, that's what I've known about you! Besides, there's nothing wrong with you having a crush on her."  
  
Peter looked at Brian, for a look of approval. "If you admit to me that you have a little crush on my sister, maybe I'll tell you of whether or not I approve." Brian smirked.  
  
Peter shrugged, and looked at Elizabeth. "Y-Yeah, maybe I do." Peter shyly stuttered.  
  
Brian and Rogue looked at each other, smiling.  
  
Brian sat in the chair next to Elizabeth's bedside, with the blanket wrapped up to his chin. He turned his head, as he slept. Rogue continued to read, in hopes that Elizabeth would open her eyes. Peter was asleep in the empty bed next to Elizabeth's. Hank walked in, and replaced the empty IV bag with a full one. Rogue looked up at him. "Hi, Mr. McCoy." She smiled.  
  
Hank looked at her, and smiled. "You've been reading for some time, Rogue." He smirked.  
  
Rogue closed the book, and shrugged. "Just hopin' she'd wake up." She sighed.  
  
Hank sat in the empty chair next to Rogue. "This is definitely an emergency situation we have never handled here at the Institute before. Usually I've treated the students with broken bones, cuts, scratches, injuries of that kind. Not like this; to where a student is placed in a coma." Hank explained.  
  
Rogue looked at Elizabeth, and shook her head, "What a way to be welcomed to the X Men, huh?" She laughed.  
  
Hank smirked, as he looked at Elizabeth. "Hopefully Elizabeth will pull out of this like the strong woman I've believed she was." He sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I've heard her mom has been callin' every five minutes practically." Rogue sighed.  
  
"Her mother's extremely worried about her. Wouldn't you be worried? I mean, Professor Xavier promised safety and sanctuary for Elizabeth and Brian here at the Institute. She placed her children's lives in our hands, and look what happens," Hank paused, and wiped his brow, before removing his glasses, "A child of all creatures, is attacked and nearly killed. This situation had opened the Professor's eyes; he realized that even though you've been trained to use your powers, none of you are invincible. The reality hit him hard." Hank sighed.  
  
Suddenly, they heard the sound of sheets stirring. Rogue and Hank looked at Elizabeth, and saw her blood pressure rising on the monitor. Hank rushed out of his seat, and grabbed a syringe, to help calm her blood pressure. Rogue leaned forward, and held onto Elizabeth's hand. She turned to Brian, and shook him awake. "Brian! She's waking up!" Rogue shrieked.  
  
Brian opened his eyes, and looked at Rogue, "What?"  
  
His eyes moved to Elizabeth, and he saw her stirring in the bed. He shot up, and rushed to her bedside. Rogue stood, and stood next to Brian. "Peter! She's waking up!" Rogue said.  
  
Peter opened his eyes, and his head shot up, as he saw Rogue and Brian standing over Elizabeth's bed. He saw Hank injecting fluid into the IV on Elizabeth's wrist. Peter shot up from the bed, throwing his legs to the side. Hank rushed to the call button, to alert Charles that Elizabeth was awakening. "Come on, Betsy, open your eyes." Brian lightly said.  
  
Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly, letting in the light she had not seen for days. Her sight was blurry, as her eyes focused. She looked to her right, and saw two blurry figures standing over her. Her vision cleared, and tears welled into her eyes, as she saw her twin standing alongside with Rogue. His dark blue eyes welled with tears, as he smiled down on her. "Hey, Lizard!" He smiled.  
  
"Brian?" She whispered.  
  
Brian knelt down next to her. He held his sister's hand to his face. "I'm here, Betsy."  
  
Elizabeth opened her hand, and felt his face. A smile formed on her lips, as tears escaped the corners of her eyes. She looked at Rogue, and saw tears forming in her eyes. "Hi, Betsy." Rogue smiled.  
  
Elizabeth looked to the left side of her bed, and saw Peter anxiously standing, looking down at her. His ice blue eyes gleamed at her, as his charming smile formed on his mouth. He knelt down, and placed his hand on her forehead. "Hey, beautiful." He grinned.  
  
Elizabeth's brown eyes searched his face, and she attempted to lift her left arm, but stopped as a pain shot through her side. "Easy, Elizabeth." She heard.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes moved to the foot of her bed, and she saw Hank in his white lab coat, smiling at her. "Where am I?" She spoke, through her dry throat.  
  
"You're in the infirmary, Elizabeth. Here; at the institute. You've been in a coma for about three days now." Hank smiled.  
  
Brian leaned towards her, "Lizard, do you remember what happened with Sabertooth?" He asked.  
  
"On the mission?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"No, hun. Here in the institute." Rogue clarified for her.  
  
Elizabeth shook her head, with a puzzled look on her face. "Her mind's blocked it out due to the trauma." Hank answered.  
  
"I feel like I've been run over by a bulldozer." Elizabeth groaned.  
  
"Why don't I start treating Elizabeth, okay guys? Professor Xavier is on his way down to talk with her." Hank sighed.  
  
"Alright." Rogue said.  
  
Rogue grabbed onto Elizabeth's hand, and lightly squeezed it. Elizabeth looked at her, and squeezed back. They both smiled at each other. "Welcome back, Betsy." Rogue smiled.  
  
Rogue let go of her hand, and walked out of the room, as Elizabeth lightly waved to her. Brian kissed his sister's hand, and looked at her. "Don't do that to me again, Betsy." He sarcastically threatened.  
  
Elizabeth smiled at her brother, and took her hand from his. She wiped the tears from his face. "Don't leave me again, Bee." She smiled back.  
  
Brian shook his head, smirking at his sister. "I won't."  
  
Peter stared at her. Brian stood up, and walked to the doorway. He saw Logan staring into the room from the observation window. "Aren't you going inside to greet her, Logan?" Brian asked.  
  
Logan looked at him, "Not yet." He sighed.  
  
Brian placed his hand on Logan's arm. "Thanks Logan. I know you kept Betsy from dying. With that, I owe you my life." He smiled.  
  
A faint smile formed on Logan's lips, and Brian walked away. Logan looked back into the infirmary, and saw Peter kneeling where Brian was at Elizabeth's bedside. Elizabeth lifted her hand to his face, looking at him. "Why are you in here?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
Peter grabbed her hand, and looked at her. Elizabeth saw his blue eyes filled with concern. He suddenly smirked, "I wasn't going to let you get away without at least one date, Betsy. No one gets away from me that easily." He joked.  
  
Elizabeth smiled. Peter smiled at her. He then sobered, and gently placed her hand on the bed at her side. "Get better, Elizabeth." He said.  
  
She watched him stand up, and leave the infirmary. Hank began to treat Elizabeth, giving her medication for her pain. Logan stared into the room, through the window, not moving. He sighed, as he watched Hank help Elizabeth. 


	9. The Mark

The Mark  
  
Logan walked towards the infirmary, down the wide hallway. He stopped just before he reached the door. He looked at the bundle of white roses in his hand, and sighed. He looked up at the door, and walked into the room. He saw Elizabeth sitting up slightly, carefully reaching for a cup sitting on the stand on the right side of her bed. "Betts! Let me get that for you!" Logan said, rushing to the cup.  
  
Elizabeth sat back, slowly and carefully, and looked at him, as he handed her the cup. Logan sat in the seat at her bedside. She drank out of the cup, and she looked at the stand that the cup had sat on. Logan grabbed the cup from her hands, and placed it on the top of the oak stand next to her bed. He settled, and looked at her. Her exotic almond shaped brown eyes stared at him. Her long, thick black hair was un-brushed, and fell plainly around her face, reaching to her waist. She lifted her right hand, and curled the thick strands of black hair, behind her ear. She looked up at him, noticing his dark brown eyes looking at her with concern. He ran his hand through his thick black hair, pushing the wisps of hair out of his face as well. He nervously cleared his throat, breaking the silence between them. He handed her the bundle of roses, "These are for you. I didn't know what your favorite flowers were, so I thought these would do." He nervously said.  
  
A smile formed on her lips, as she held the roses to her nose. She smelt their aroma, loving the fresh smell of the velvet like petals brushing against the tip of her nose. She moaned with satisfaction, as she placed the roses on her lap. "Thank you, Logan." She smiled at him.  
  
Logan sheepishly looked at her. His face then sobered, "Remember, this whole thing's not going to make up for the stunt you pulled, Miss Ninja!" He sternly reminded.  
  
Elizabeth smiled more at his comment, "Of course, sir."  
  
She knew he didn't mean that. He had fun that night, and she knew it. She felt that Logan would be a marvelous fighting partner. Someone who could fight alongside of her; nothing would be able to stop them. She then looked at him, with a puzzled look on her face. She had been asking about him for the past two days. He had not come to see her since she had opened her eyes. She finally spoke, "Logan, Dr. McCoy told me what you'd done for me."  
  
Logan looked up at her. He would have come to anyone's aid that lived within these walls. But, with her, there was a soft spot he had in his heart for her. He didn't know what to say; he had hoped she didn't violate a trust, and probe his mind. He cleared his sudden dry throat, "Well, I would have done the same for anyone else. I'm just doin' my job, Betts." He said.  
  
Elizabeth's head tilted upright, as she solemnly looked at him. "Well, thank you," She paused, thinking about why he had not come to see her, "Logan, where have you been for the past two days?" She asked.  
  
Logan looked at her, almost shocked at her question. He didn't know what to tell her. His feelings towards her were brand new to him; he didn't know what it was that he felt towards her. He sighed, not knowing how to answer her. He didn't want to say anything of how he felt towards her; she belonged with someone else. Not him. He finally answered, as she looked at him, her eyes wide with question. "Betts, I felt you needed time to spend with your brother." He lied.  
  
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow with suspicion, "Logan, is there something you would like to tell me?" She asked, her voice becoming thick with emotion.  
  
Logan looked at her, his heart aching as he saw the tears welling in her eyes. He looked away from her, and hesitantly shook his head, "No, Betts."  
  
Elizabeth let the tears fall down the side of her face, "Well, Logan, I want you to know that after this whole ordeal, you will always have a place in my heart." She sighed.  
  
She knew what he felt towards her. She didn't even need to probe his mind; she could tell by the way he acted towards her. His nervousness, his hesitation; they were signs that he had a secret hiding from her. She cleared her mind of the thoughts of possibilities of them becoming a couple. He was a very handsome man; a rugged look she had never really seen before. His large brown eyes looked at her, with concern. She admired how thick his black hair was, the wisps commonly falling around his eyes, reaching to his high cheekbones. He had the muscular build of a warrior; and most importantly, the love of hand to hand combat. "Well, I have some things I gotta work on around the mansion, so I'll check up on you later Betts." Logan abruptly said, standing up.  
  
Elizabeth looked up at him. She picked up the roses off of her lap, and carefully turned towards the stand on her right side. Logan attempted to reach for them, to help her, but she stopped him, "Logan, I can do it. I'll be fine." She coldly said.  
  
Logan held his hands up defensively. "Alright Betts. I'll see you." He sighed.  
  
He walked towards the door, but stopped as he heard Elizabeth speak to him, "Wildflowers and Snapdragons." She said, just as he reached the door.  
  
He turned around, confused. "What?" He asked her.  
  
"My favorite flowers are Wildflowers and Snapdragons. Just for future reference, sir." She coyly smiled at him.  
  
Logan's face eased, and a smile played his lips, as he looked at her. "Get well, Betts." He smiled, before leaving the room.  
  
Elizabeth's smile slowly frowned, as she looked around her. She was alone; a feeling she had come to hate. All the other students were at school. She had a lengthy conversation with her mother a couple of hours earlier, her mother ranting about how worried she'd been. She looked at the clear glass vase sitting on top of the stand, to the left side of her bed. The vase was filled with roses, left by Jean on behalf of the students at the Institute. The roses were beginning to wilt, with a couple of the white petals on the stand, at the foot of the vase. Next to the vase, she saw the flowers that Peter had left. Colorful wildflowers and red Snapdragons stood in the crystal vase. She saw the card on the stand that came with the colorful arrangement. She smiled; remembering the concern on Peter's face, as she first opened her eyes. She had never met anyone with such persistence as he. She smiled, leaning her head back against her pillow, staring at the vase Peter had brought for her. She let out a soft laugh, careful not to initiate the familiar pain in her left side. "Oh, Peter. You never give up, do you?" She said aloud.  
  
She knew he genuinely had feelings for her. She thought of how handsome Peter was; simply irresistible. He had the looks to envy any man that came across his path. His 6'6" muscular frame towered over her petite 5'7" toned frame. He always wore his short hair spiked with gel; but when she awoke; his hair was flat, combed forward on his head. The most unforgettable trait of him, were his eyes; the blue topaz color was embedded into her head. She thought of his charming smile, when he would grin from ear to ear; his lean, defined face creasing around the corners of his mouth, as he smiled. She wanted to be careful, not to be too vulnerable. She was too afraid of getting hurt by anyone.  
  
Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted, as her head suddenly ached. A dull pain shot through her head, as she placed her hand to her temple. She felt her heart rate rising, and the sides of her head pulsating. She cried out at the pain. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain in her head, but, the pain kept coming. Her hand frantically grabbed onto the call button pad, lying on her side, on the bed. She pressed the button, which lead to Charles' wheelchair com link. She slammed the pad onto her bed, and slammed both of her hands to the side of her head. "Elizabeth?" She heard over the intercom in the infirmary.  
  
Elizabeth tried to speak, but, instead all she could do, was cry out at the pain. She suddenly became frightened, that her stitches would break on her wound. As she jerked her head back towards the pillow behind her, another pain shot through her side. She screamed, throwing her right hand down to her left sided wound. Hank rushed into the infirmary. Hank hurriedly placed the ear pieces of his stethoscope into his ears, and placed the scope itself on her chest. His eyebrows raised with concern. Charles soon entered the infirmary. "Professor, make the pain stop!" Elizabeth screamed.  
  
Logan looked into the infirmary, and stared at Elizabeth, as she had a hand pressed against her temple. Charles closed his eyes, probing her mind. His mind's eye delved into her brain. He saw a vision of Sabertooth ripping at her side, as he clawed into her. The vision flashed immediately to her memory of her father's laboratory explosion. As he looked on, as if he were a third person, he saw Elizabeth running towards the laboratory door. She opened the door, after entering the combination to the lab; and screamed as a blaze of fire rushed towards her. She slammed the door, sobbing. The vision flashed again, to when her body was reformed. He saw the group of ninjas, clad in uniform, standing around two metal slabs. Suddenly, Charles' mind was thrown out of hers, as he felt a force throwing his mind's eye out of hers. Charles eyes shot open, and he stared at Elizabeth. "Charles, she's probably having massive migraines! What could be causing this?" Hank asked him.  
  
Elizabeth placed both of her hands onto her temples, as she grunted continuously at the pain. Her eyes remained shut, and suddenly, before Charles could answer Hank's question, the mansion began to shake violently. Hank held onto the machinery around Elizabeth, to keep them from falling onto her. Charles looked at Elizabeth, as Logan ran towards him, shielding him for safety. Logan glanced at Elizabeth, but took another look at her face, as something caught his eye. She finally passed out, from exhaustion, and immediately, the shaking had stopped. Logan stood up straight, and looked closer at Elizabeth's face. "Chuck, take a look at this." Logan said, standing at Elizabeth's bedside.  
  
Charles moved closer to Elizabeth. Hank hovered over her, and placed his hand under her chin. He gently moved her face towards him by her chin, and examined her. "What is that?" Logan asked.  
  
Charles examined Elizabeth's face. There was a distinctive mark on the left side of her face; a thick red mark. At the top of the mark, there were two separated points, pointing towards the right side of her face. The mark started just below the top of her forehead, and covered down the left side, with a two inch width, over her eye, finally ending with a pointed tip, just next to the left side of the bottom of her nose. Charles and Hank looked up at each other, puzzled by the newly found mark on the injured student. 


	10. An XTreme Discovery

An Xtreme Discovery  
  
Charles looked up, as Hank walked into his office. Hank wore the familiar white lab coat, with his glasses over his eyes. He held a folder in his hand, as he sat down in the seat in front of Charles' desk. He placed the folder on the desk in front of him. "These are the results of the tests I've conducted on Elizabeth." Hank began.  
  
Charles reached over to the folder in the center of his desk. He picked it up, and opened the folder. He read the report inside, his eyebrows beginning to rise in shock at what he had read. Hank sat back in his chair, waiting for Charles to look up from the report. He folded his hands, resting them on his lap. Charles closed the folder, and placed it on the desk. "The molecular monitor had read the energy from that mark. The energy had flown off the scale, indicating the mark is permanent." Hank removed his glasses, and rested his elbow on Charles' desk, as he leaned towards him. He gestured his glasses towards the report, as he continued, "Charles, her X Gene has mutated five hundred times!"  
  
Charles looked up at him. "Charles, how could this have happened to her without killing her first?" Hank asked, puzzled.  
  
Hank sat back in his seat. "Well, I do know that she was born with this; however, my theory is that due to the youth of her age, her DNA had continued to evolve. However, after her mind reformation with me, the mutation had gone into recession." Charles sighed, sitting back into his wheelchair, before continuing to explain, "With her father passing away, and the traumatic encounter with Sabertooth; and let's not forget the stress she had gone through, with the adjustments of her new life here, I'm suspecting that had triggered the DNA to finish mutating." Charles explained.  
  
Hank wiped his brow, and placed his glasses back onto his face, "Charles, that specific X Gene is linked to her telekinetic ability. With the mansion shaking so violently, I fear what would happen if her telekinesis were to seriously get out of control." He sighed.  
  
Charles nodded, understanding what he had meant. He opened the folder again; staring at the results of the testing Hank had conducted on Elizabeth. He thought for a moment, and finally spoke, "With the amount of times her X Gene had mutated, I fear the strength of her telekinesis has reached far beyond what I can imagine." He said, with concern in his voice.  
  
Elizabeth opened her eyes from her sleep. The pain in her head was gone; along with the pain that had been in her side. She saw Storm walk into the infirmary, her warm blue eyes smiling at her with concern. In her hands, she held a tray with a bowl of soup, and a glass of water. Elizabeth smiled, as Storm placed the tray on the stand near the bed. "Are you hungry, child?" Storm smiled.  
  
"Starving!" Elizabeth grinned.  
  
Storm wheeled the stand in front of Elizabeth, as Elizabeth carefully sat up. Storm gently placed her hand on Elizabeth's head, running her hand down her hair. "How are you feeling, Elizabeth?" Storm asked, warmly.  
  
Elizabeth looked at her, and nodded. "Better. Dr. McCoy gave me pain medication for my side, and the pain in my head is gone."  
  
Elizabeth had come to admire Storm. She had been Elizabeth's 'nurse'; bringing her meals, checking up on her to make sure she was alright. She admired Storm's beauty, her dark skin; the platinum colored long hair falling around her face, to her mid back. Her blue eyes stood out, almost glowing, against the darkness of her skin. Storm's face sobered, as she looked at Elizabeth's face. "Elizabeth, has Hank spoken with you in regards to the headache you'd had?" Storm asked her.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, looking at the tray in front of her. She hesitantly nodded. "And I have a mark on my face. I don't know what's happening to me, Storm." Elizabeth sighed.  
  
Storm placed her hand on Elizabeth's arm. "Elizabeth, just remember, that we all will do everything we possible can to help you. As long as you let us."  
  
"I know, Ms. Monroe. Thank you for everything you all have done for me." Elizabeth smiled, looking up at her.  
  
Storm lightly squeezed her arm, smiling at her. She stood up, and walked out of the room. Elizabeth scooted the tray forward towards her, and picked up the spoon. She was about the scoop up soup in her spoon, but stopped, dropping the spoon in the bowl, as she heard Brian rushing into the infirmary. His blue eyes gleamed, smiling at her, as he rushed into the room. She looked away, to her left, attempting to hide the mark from her twin. Brian, not noticing her hiding, sat down in the seat at her bedside. "Hey!" He smiled at her; his face sobered, as he noticed her looking away from him.  
  
Brian raised an eyebrow, puzzled by her sudden shyness of him. "Betsy?" He asked.  
  
Brian stood up, and leaned over her bed, trying to look at her face. "What's wrong?" He asked.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes moved towards him, as she shook her head, careful not to show the mark. "N-Nothing." She stuttered.  
  
Brian stood straight, and dropped into the seat. He sat back, crossing his arms, raising his eyebrow at her, smirking. "Bullshit." He coyly said.  
  
Elizabeth's head turned to fully look at him, with a look of shock on her face. Before she realized that her mark had come into view, Brian leaned towards her, staring at the red mark on the left side of her face. "Betsy, what is that?" He asked, out of curiosity.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, "Well, I guess there's no use in trying to hide it from you forever." She snapped.  
  
"What happened, Betsy? Is everything okay?" He asked.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, and combed her hair back with her hands. "Brian, I don't know exactly. Dr. McCoy had run tests on this mark, trying to figure out what it is. He hasn't gotten back to me with the results." She sighed.  
  
Elizabeth solemnly looked at the tray in front of her. "Besides; I've looked atrocious from the start. This mark just adds to it." She said, as tears formed in her eyes.  
  
Brian sighed, as he stared at his sister. "Lizard, look at me." He said.  
  
Elizabeth looked at her brother, with tears streaming down her face. "Look, I'm only going to say this once; because I'm your brother, it's a little weird, but that's beyond the point. I hope you believe me when I say this, but," Brian paused, clearing his throat. He then continued, after gulping, "You're not ugly."  
  
"But, Brian, I have something on my face!" Elizabeth cried, gesturing to her mark.  
  
Brian playfully rolled his eyes, "Betsy, I said, I'm only going to say it once," He reached to the tissue box on the stand at her bedside, and pulled out a couple of tissue sheets. He handed them to her, "Besides; I think that mark looks wicked!" He smirked.  
  
Elizabeth took the tissue from her brother's hand. She wiped her face of the tears. She looked at him, "Really?"  
  
Brian nodded, "Yeah! It looks like a wicked tattoo!" He grinned.  
  
Elizabeth scoffed, and smirked at her brother's comment, "Please, Brian. It looks as if I got pissed and rushed into a tattoo parlor!" She smiled.  
  
Brian laughed at his sister's comment. She looked at her meal tray in front of her. "I think my soup has gotten cold." She sighed.  
  
Brian took the bowl off of the tray, and looked at his sister, "I'll go warm it up for you, Lizard. I'll be right back." He said, as he walked out of the infirmary. 


	11. Testing Evolution

Testing Evolution  
  
Elizabeth looked into her empty room, from her doorway. Her bed was still made, untouched since she was put in her coma. To Hank's surprise, her wound had healed marvelously, after a week and a half in the infirmary. She still received pains in her side, as her wound needed to heal internally. Her brother had brought a change of clothing for her, so she may walk into her room without wearing the gown Hank had provided. Brian and Peter had placed two black ceramic vases, one filled with wildflowers, the other filled with red snapdragons, on top of her long oak dresser. She wanted to walk to her room alone, insisting she could do it on her own. Her windows, including her bay window, remained shut and locked. She walked into her room, and placed her hand on her oak footboard of her bed.  
  
She saw her X Uniform, stitched where the tears of her wound had been, hanging on her closet door. She stared at the uniform, trying to remember what had happened. A part of her wanted to remember it, to avoid from it happening again. She wanted to correct the mistakes she had made during the confrontation. She purely wanted revenge for what happened to her. She walked to her closet door, and looked up at her hung uniform. She ran her fingers along the well stitched area. The black leather uniform hung on its hanger, resembling her petite 5'7" figure. She saw her katana sword handle secured into the gold colored belt hung around the neck of the hanger.  
  
Elizabeth stared at the uniform, running her fingers along the stitched area. She clenched her other hand into a fist, and placed it at her side. She closed her eyes, trying to delve into her own memories, to remember her encounter. She saw a vision in her mind, flashing to her door breaking down, and smashing to the floor. She saw Sabertooth staring at her, his dark yellow eyes staring at her. She opened her eyes, as the memory of the encounter began to surface. She wanted to be careful not to let her newly evolved ability to get out of control. She could still smell the sweat of Sabertooth in her nostrils. She turned to her bay window, and walked towards the seat of her window. She sat on the seat, staring out into the darkness outside of her room. She tossed her heavy braided hair over her shoulder, feeling it sway side to side, and then resting on her back, reaching to her waist. She saw her reflection in the window she stared out of, the mark standing out against her porcelain skin. Suddenly a memory flashed in front of her eyes, of Sabertooth grabbing her by the neck. She closed her eyes, and quickly shook her head. She opened them, and the memory stopped. She looked at her hands, clenching them both into fists. Her psychic blades ignited around her fists, the white light of the blades' energies touching her face. She glanced at her reflection, and saw that the mark over her eye was glowing bright red. Her right eyebrow raised in confusion. She looked closely, her blades still ignited on her fists. She dissolved her blades, and the glow immediately died away. A smile formed on her lips. "Wicked." She said to herself.  
  
She then sobered, confused. She didn't notice a glow coming from her eye. She stared at her open door, lifting her hand. She pointed her hand towards the door, concentrating for the door to close. She strained for a moment, her mark slightly glowing. The door jerked back and forth, still not shutting to a close. "Close, you bloody piece of wood!" She snapped.  
  
Her mark illuminated brighter, and the door slammed shut, and quickly blasted through into the hallway, shattering into pieces. Her eyes opened wide with shock, as the glow from her mark died away. She stared at the remnants of wood lying on the floor just outside her doorway. She cautiously stood, and walked towards the pieces of wood. "What was that?" She heard from the hallway.  
  
Suddenly, Logan was at the shards of wood, staring at them. Both sets of claws out, he knelt down to the shards of wood. He looked into the open doorway, and saw Elizabeth standing at the foot of her bed, staring at the mess of wood with her mouth dropped. She placed her hand over her mouth. "What happened, Betsy?" He coldly asked her, his eyes glaring at her.  
  
He stood up, and stepped over the mess to get into her room. He sniffed the air, as he entered her room, and then looked at her. "I-I'm sorry, Logan." She stuttered, finally looking up at him.  
  
He groaned out of frustration, and pointed to the mess outside of her doorway. "Did you do this?!" He snapped.  
  
Elizabeth cautiously backed away from him, as he leaned into her, his arm still pointed at the mess. His eyes stared at her, mixed with anger and concern. "Y-Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She sheepishly told him.  
  
Logan turned his face towards the mess, and he retracted his claws. He ran both of his hands up the sides of his head. "I just fixed your damn door, Elizabeth!" He complained.  
  
He stomped out of her room, "I'll clean it up!" He snapped, as he left.  
  
Elizabeth's hand nervously clenched onto the footboard of her bed. She remembered the Professor's explanation of her newly evolved ability. He had explained to her the results of the test that Hank had conducted. He suspected her power had increased in strength, but she couldn't believe it would ever do something such as exploding her door. She heard Logan mumbling curses, as he placed a tin garbage can outside her room. He placed the floor broom onto the floor, and began sweeping the shards of wood towards the garbage can. Jean peeked into Elizabeth's room through the doorway, her long thick red hair hanging as she did so. "Elizabeth, are you alright?" She asked.  
  
Elizabeth sighed, and looked at her. "You're just the person I have to talk to, Jean." She told her.  
  
Jean stepped over the broom on the floor, as Logan swept the shards. She walked into the room, and placed her hand on Elizabeth's arm, as she stood in front of her; her moss green eyes looking at her with concern. "Jean, my telekinesis; it's evolved," Elizabeth began, as she turned around to walk towards her bay window seat. She sat down, and looked at Jean, as Jean followed. "First, I tried to test my psychic blades, to see if I could still use them. Which they are perfectly fine. But, I noticed in my reflection, that the mark over my eye had glowed when I did. As I dissolved my blades, the glow died down. The weird part is, is that my sight isn't interfered when this happens. So, I tried to close my door with my telekinesis, remembering what you had told me about focus," Elizabeth looked at her doorway, and continued, "My door jerked back and forth, then slammed shut followed by exploding into the hallway," She looked at Jean, "Jean, what's happened to me?"  
  
Logan leaned his forearm against the doorway, and looked at Elizabeth, "You know-", He began.  
  
Elizabeth looked at him, "Logan, why don't you get stuffed, you bloody hair ball! Besides, you don't care! You only visited me once when I had awoken." She hissed.  
  
Logan stood up straight, and stared at her. Jean stared at Elizabeth, shocked at the sudden outburst. Logan's eyes immediately changed, infuriated at her outburst. "I don't care? I saved your damn life, kid! Don't complain and bitch to me about how I don't care!" He growled, before walking away.  
  
Elizabeth looked away, feeling Jean's long stare. Finally Jean spoke, "Betsy, he was only going to tell you to talk with the Professor about this."  
  
Elizabeth sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," She ran her hand down her face, and rested it onto the seat she sat on, "This change hasn't done me any good. I'm so sorry, Jean. It's a little scary when all of the sudden you blow your room door up, when all you try to do is close it," She looked at Jean, "Imagine what would happen if it were to get out of control? Have you ever seen telekinesis like that?"  
  
Jean shook her head. "My powers had evolved as well. The beginning of the year, actually. I was under a lot of stress, trying to deal with the school finals, my soccer playoffs." Jean swung her red hair over her shoulder, and placed her hand on Elizabeth's arm, warmly, "But I've learned to control it." She sat back, "I've never been able to blow through a door, though. The Professor did inform me that your power may have grown in strength," She looked at the doorway, "I think he was right."  
  
Elizabeth looked at the doorway as well. They both sighed. "I have to go apologize to Logan." Elizabeth sighed, as she stood up.  
  
Jean looked up at her, "Elizabeth, why don't we work on control tomorrow? That way you try not to use too much of it when it's not needed."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. She then smiled at Jean, "Thank you."  
  
Jean smiled back at her, as she sat back against the window behind her. "You're welcome, Elizabeth."  
  
Elizabeth turned, and walked out of the room. 


	12. Elizabeth's Apology, Logan's Confession

Elizabeth's Apology, Logan's Confession  
  
Elizabeth stood at the top of the split staircase, staring into the foyer below. The mansion was silent, as everyone slept. She closed her eyes, concentrating on Logan's whereabouts. In her mind, as if the vision played in front of her face, she saw Logan in a bar, shooting a game of pool by himself. His open beer bottle sat at the rim of the pool table. He stared at the pool table, chalking the queue stick in his hand. She smiled to herself, as he leaned over, pointing the queue stick at the white ball on the table, his muscles well defined under his tucked in well fitted, dark blue short sleeved shirt. His shirt was tucked into the waist of his nicely fit blue jeans. She then concentrated on the outside of the bar, searching for the name. "Joe's Tavern", it read; a bright neon sign hung just above the doorway of the bar. She smiled, opening her eyes. She walked down the stairway, towards the carport.  
  
Logan shot the queue ball, sinking the 11 ball. He stood up straight, and grabbed his open beer bottle. Drinking his beer, he thought of Elizabeth. The thought of her telling him he didn't care infuriated him. He wondered at her sudden outburst towards him. He was confused, considering the fact that all she did was flirt with him. He finally admitted to himself that he liked her flirting. He did care about her. He couldn't believe that she would think otherwise. He shook his head of his thoughts, and placed his beer bottle on the rim of the table. He bent forward towards the pool table, pointing the queue stick towards the queue ball.  
  
Elizabeth parked the black Jetta in a parking space. She turned off the car, and stepped out. She closed the door after her, and pressed the alarm button on the key chain. She smiled, as she walked towards the bar in front of her, "Rogue, you have one bloody kick ass car." She smiled.  
  
She walked towards the doorway, placing the keys into her pocket of her black leather jacket. She placed her hands into the pockets of her jacket, as she walked towards the doorway. Her black hair was loose of the braid, falling freely to her waist. A few strands of her hair blew with the breeze around her. Her black combat boots slightly squeaked, as she took each step on the pavement below her. She stopped at the doorway, and hesitantly walked into the bar. Elizabeth's eyes began to dry, as she was greeted with a cloud of smoke from cigars and cigarettes. The bar itself was lined up with stools, occupied by loud bikers and older men. The jukebox played country music throughout the bar. The smell of stale beer and liquor filled her nostrils, almost masked by the smell of burnt tobacco. Her eyes searched the bar in front of her, as she looked for Logan. She saw an older drunk couple, dancing in front of the jukebox. She noticed some older women in the crowd, glaring at her with jealousy. She ignored their stares, as she saw Logan drinking out of his third beer bottle, standing at the same pool table. She noticed a couple of older women sitting on stools behind him, with glasses filled with liquor in their hands. She raised her eyebrow, and squeezed through the crowd, towards him. Suddenly, she was grabbed on the arm, and swung around. "What's the rush, doll face?" She heard.  
  
She looked up, with a look of disgust on her face. She came face to face with a middle aged man, his glossy green eyes staring at her. His red and sweaty face was unshaven, with hair stubs covering his beard line. His shoulder length blonde hair was greasy, and uncombed. He wore a blue and black plaid long sleeved collared shirt, that buttoned up the front; un- tucked over his black jeans. She could smell whiskey and stale cigar smoke from his breath. "I suggest you take your hands off of me, you bloody prick!" She hissed.  
  
He smiled at her, hearing her accent; his hand still wrapped around her arm. "You're English, eh?" He gestured to the red mark on the left side of her face, "I like the tattoo, beautiful! What's your name?"  
  
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him. She felt her temper beginning to grow thin. "I said, let go of me!" She said, raising her voice, "I'm warning you!"  
  
Logan looked up from his game of pool, as his keen sense of hearing picked up a familiar voice within the loud crowd of people. His eyes widened with shock, as he saw Elizabeth staring up at one of the drunks in the bar. His eyebrows then narrowed with rage, as he saw the drunken man's hand wrapped around her arm. He angrily groaned, as he placed the queue stick on top of the pool table. He walked towards the scene, pushing through the crowd in front of him.  
  
The man laughed at Elizabeth's threat. "You're warning me?" He laughed. "What are you going to do, sick your daddy on me?" He snapped.  
  
"Problem here, bub?" They heard.  
  
Elizabeth turned her head, as the man's eyes looked towards the left of him. "Why don't you mind your own business?" The man told Logan.  
  
Logan clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, careful not to unsheathe the lethal blades within his hands. "She is my business. Now, I suggest you unwrap your fingers from around her arm. I'm going to give you three seconds." Logan growled.  
  
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Logan, I can handle this." She snapped at him.  
  
Elizabeth was suddenly pulled forward by the drunk, and she felt him wrapping his arms around her waist. "Let me dance with this angel first!" The drunk smirked.  
  
Elizabeth reached behind her, and grabbed onto his hands. She pulled them out from around her, and let his arms go. When he tried to reach for her again, she kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over, and she grabbed onto one of his arms. She twisted him around by his arm, causing him to fall on his face on the floor. She held onto his arm, and pressed his hand towards his wrist. He began to cry out, as she planted one of her feet to his back, restraining him from moving. She noticed the other people in the bar seemed to be to drunk to care. She turned her attention back towards the man under her foot. "Now, I warned you! Women are not play toys!" She hissed. She then smirked, and leaned down towards him, "Did you learn your lesson?" She sarcastically asked him.  
  
The corners of Logan's mouth formed a slight smile, as he watched Elizabeth handle the drunk the way he liked it. "Did you?" She yelled.  
  
"Yes, yes! Let me go!" He cried out.  
  
Elizabeth took her foot off of his back, and threw his arm towards him, backing away. Logan placed his hands on her arms, as he stood behind her. His 6'0" frame towering over her petite 5'7" body. The man stumbled to his feet, and he leaned onto the table in front of him, using the table to keep his footing. He grabbed his drink, and took a gulp from his whiskey. He slammed the glass on the table, and turned to Logan and Elizabeth. "The lady warned you, pal!" Logan smirked.  
  
The drunk attempted to say something, but instead bent forward. Elizabeth's face turned to utter disgust, as Logan pulled her back, away from him. The drunk began to hurl on the floor. "Let's get out of here." Logan said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Drinking's bad for you! Try the AA!" Elizabeth snapped, as Logan ushered her away.  
  
Logan followed Elizabeth through the crowd, towards the doorway leading outside. He stopped, and rushed back towards the pool table he played at. He saw his black motorcycle helmet and black glasses sitting on a stool beside the table. He grabbed them, and rushed to follow Elizabeth outside.  
  
Elizabeth leaned against the Jetta, staring at the bar. Her hands were shoved into the pockets of her leather jacket, one hand playing with the set of car keys inside the pocket. She looked up at Logan. He placed his helmet and sunglasses on the seat of his motorcycle, in the parking space next to where she had parked Rogue's Jetta. He finally turned around, and combed his hand through his black hair. He looked at her, "Elizabeth, what were you doing here in the first place?" He calmly asked her.  
  
Elizabeth cleared her throat, "I wanted to apologize, Logan." She also nervously combed the strands of hair out of her face, "I didn't mean to snap at you back at the mansion." She apologized.  
  
Logan looked away from her, putting his hands into his pockets. He looked out towards the parking lot, "There's no need to apologize to me, Betts." He then looked at her, "I know you didn't mean it anyway."  
  
Elizabeth shook her head, "Logan, I've learned the hard way that you never want to end a conversation with a friend in anger," She paused, and looked away, remembering how angry she was at her brother when he had left her, "It could end up being your last." She sighed.  
  
Logan's head tilted upright, as he stared at her. Her eyes looked at him, her head still turned away. He noticed the thin strands of her hair that escaped from behind her, lightly blowing in front of her face. He stared at her, beginning to become attracted to the mark on her face; he saw that it caused her dark brown eyes to stand out. She combed the strands of hair out of her face, and turned her face towards him, as he smiled at her. "Are you calling me a friend, Betts?" He asked.  
  
She looked away, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess so," She then looked at him, "Why, does that bother you, dear Logan?" She grinned.  
  
Logan shrugged, shaking his head. "No; it's just that I thought you didn't want to trust anyone but your dear brother." He smiled, emphasizing his last two words with a mock British accent.  
  
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and smiled, as she looked at her feet. "Logan, I just feel that you and I are two of the same people. I have no idea if you were there in the infirmary while I was in a coma, but I just sense that you attempted to tell me a secret." She nervously said.  
  
Logan stepped forward towards her, staring at her. She saw his feet on the ground, standing toe to toe with hers, and she nervously looked up at him. He leaned his face towards hers, and gently kissed her on the lips. He pulled away, looking at her, "That should say it all, Betts. I did that, while you were in your coma, instead of telling you a secret." He paused, and let out a sigh, "Betts, you and I can't-"  
  
Elizabeth immediately nodded, knowing what he wanted to say. They couldn't be a couple; they'd kill each other for one; plus, the way Elizabeth saw it, even though Logan looked to only be no more than twenty five years old, his regenerative capabilities made his true age impossible to determine. Logan knew that Peter had feelings for Elizabeth; he knew that if anyone could tame her, it would be him. Nothing would ever work between him and Elizabeth. They were too much of the same people. They both knew that as a team, they would be best compatible; on the field. "I know, Logan. I won't tell anyone about this, either." She said.  
  
He nodded in understanding. "You'll always have a place in my heart also, Elizabeth." He solemnly said.  
  
Her face sobered, at his comment. She leaned her upper body back, leaning against the car more, and held out her hand, "Friends?" She smiled.  
  
Logan smiled at her, and shook her hand, "Friends." 


End file.
